Group allegedly tried to get military rifle parts and ammunition

Four men from the Philippines have been charged by a federal grand jury with conspiring with others in western Pennsylvania and other states to illegally ship military rifle parts and ammunition overseas.

The indictment unsealed Monday names 42-year-old James Almendral, who was arrested last week in San Francisco, and three men who remain in the Philippines: 40-year-old Frederico Aglipay, 53-year-old Roger Kabigting, and 43-year-old James Tan Lee.

The men were first indicted in 2009 before a superseding indictment was brought in November, also under seal. The documents charge the men with conspiring to buy the M-16 and M-4 rifle components from a business in Illinois, then conspiring with others in Pennsylvania, Texas and California to ship them labeled as automotive parts to the Philippines.